"The Mariners is now a veterinary practice and there is another one in Bridlington that was recently converted into an opticians.

"All of these pubs can be converted into shops or flats without going through any sort of planning application process.

"We are aware of new pubs closing all the time and we are powerless to stop them from being converted."

According to Camra, three pubs a week were closing in the North East of England last year. Now, that figure is five a week.

Mr Campbell said: "The number of pubs closing in the local area has definitely increased recently.

"A couple of years ago, the number of pubs shutting down in Hull seemed to be less than in other parts of the UK, but we are now losing a lot more of them.

Camra is lobbying for a change to the law in England so a planning application is always required before a pub is demolished or converted for another use.

Mr Stewart said: "There is no protection for pubs in planning law and this needs to change."

Alan Canvess, former chairman of Hull and East Riding Camra, is a member of the organisation's national planning action group. He is urging residents to write to their local MPs to help push through a change in regional planning laws.

"We are trying to put a stop to the rising number of pubs that are closing and being converted for other uses," said Mr Canvess.

"We are losing pubs because there is no way to put in an objection and this campaign is vital to stop pub closures.

Mr Canvess says there are several areas of Hull suffering because of the rise in the number of pubs that are closing for good.

He said: "Pubs that are closing in Spring Bank, like the Tap and Spile, have great access to the KC Stadium and should be popular with football fans before matches.

"There is no good reason that pubs in this area should be suffering.

"If we can change the law, we can help save pubs, because at the moment there is no chance of stopping them."

Despite the bleak outlook for pubs in the region, Hull's drinking establishments are still performing better than those in the South.

Camra's latest research shows that the national pub closure rate has risen to 31 per week, up from 28 per week last year. Pubs in suburban areas are the worst hit.

Tom Stainer, Camra's head of communications, said the law needs to change.

He said: "Popular and profitable pubs are being left vulnerable by gaps in English planning legislation as pubs are increasingly being targeted by those wishing to take advantage of the absence of proper planning control.

"It is utterly perverse that developers are able to demolish or convert a pub into a convenience store or many other uses without any requirement to apply for planning permission.

"A pub is an entirely different proposition to a convenience store, estate agent or funeral directors and the planning system needs updating to reflect this fact.

"It is wrong that communities are left powerless when a popular local pub is threatened with demolition or conversion into a Tesco store."

7 comments

CAMRA fully supported the smoking ban and said business would boom with all the new customers. Until CAMRA pull their head out of the sand they simply should be ignored ... as they ignore any reference at all to the effects of the smoking ban.

People clearly vote with their feet, and who can blame them - pub prices are a rip off. I no longer know of any decent pub, that does a decent pint , at a decent price. The greedy landlords and breweries have got no one to blame but themselves.

Is the problem simply that there are too many pubs? During the last boom, just about every premises that became vacant in Hull, was turned into a pub. Just look at the old town. A lot of these places are just pub crawl establishments, not places where you would spend the night chatting to your mates.
Now the bad times have hit, & to be honest, are still not getting better for most folk, something has to give. I only hope that when things pick up, the powers that be are a bit more strict with planning applications

There is no point changing the law - these pubs closed down for a reason in the first place - not enough people used them so they didn't make money. Football matches at the KC Stadium are, at best, a twice-weekly event - that is not enough to keep a pub in business these days. The culture of this country has changed and people do different things in their spare time instead of going in pubs to drink: the internet, gyms, gaming, much more TV choice etc. Plus it's very expensive in pubs and it's not all that good for you either, so people have moved on. A lot of people including myself like to see quaint little pubs on street corners but how many of us ever pop in one on a weekday night and help keep them afloat? Obviously not enough of us.